Local distribution utility center for a raised floor

ABSTRACT

A utility center for use in combination with a raised floor for accommodating data and telecommunications wiring in an area between the raised floor and a supporting subfloor is provided. The utility center is located intermediate a communications wiring closet and at least one workstation of a workgroup for distributing wiring to communications equipment of the at least one workstation. The utility center includes a base mounted on the subfloor. The base includes an access opening therein for receiving wiring from the communications wiring closet, and for delivering wiring from the utility center to the at least one workstation of the workgroup. A vertical support is connected to the base. A distribution panel is carried by the support for operatively interconnecting wiring of the wiring closet and the communications equipment of the at least one workstation.

TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a local distribution utility center for araised floor, and method of providing communications services to aworkgroup. The invention is especially applicable to communicationswiring for servicing data and telecommunications equipment of acentralized office workgroup. Such equipment typically includes atelephone, FAX machine, modem or central computer connection, printerconnection, and/or local area network. The workgroup may include anynumber of persons with common needs and interests, and who are locatedin relatively close proximity to each other in an office. For example,the workgroup may include 8 to 12 workstations assigned to workcollectively on a particular project.

Since the location and equipment needs of the workgroup are generallytemporary and often changing, there has developed a need in the industryfor a wiring system which will readily accommodate the addition ofworkstations to the workgroup, added equipment, relocation, and otherchanges. In the past, accommodating such changes meant abandoning oldwiring, rewiring with new wiring, clogged and unusable wiring pathways,and a considerable amount of labor and cost. Moreover, since eachmanufacturer's office equipment typically had its own proprietary wiringscheme, switching from one manufacturer to another generally required acomplete rewiring of all affected workstations.

In response to these concerns and other developments in the industry,the concept of "structured wiring" emerged. Basically, structured wiringmeans that the wiring of every workstation follows a fixed plan. Thethree basic characteristics of structured wiring include:

(1) It is application-independent.

(2) Every workstation is wired the same.

(3) All workstations are star-wired to a central distribution point,such as a main wiring closet.

An "application-independent" wiring system enables the wiring system tohandle all communication services and equipment that the office workermay need over the life of the wiring. In theory, re-wiring should neverbe needed in a structured system, since the wiring is already in placeto accommodate any service combination. Workers are thereby free to moveworkstations throughout the work place without extensive labor and cost.

Star-wiring the workstations enables quick and efficient relocation andother workstation changes, since all service switching can be done atone distribution point (or at the most, several distribution points ifthe changes encompass several star-wired zones). Star-wiring also makesit easier to access and troubleshoot the wiring of a data network fromone central location. Moreover, new services can be easily added andconnected into the system. Most new network equipment has already beendesigned to drop into a star-wired topology.

Because of standardization of wiring in the industry and the acceptanceof wiring standardization by communications equipment manufacturers,structured wiring has developed into a convenient and workable system.Standardization began with the 1991 release of the EIA/TIA 568"Commercial Building Telecommunications Wiring Standard". In addition tostandardizing the types and specifications of wiring components, theEIA/TIA Standard set guidelines around which most of today's structuredwiring systems have been designed. The Standard describes a simplehorizontal system that connects to the network backbone wiring or dataequipment in a wiring closet, and consists of individual cable runs fromthe closet to each workstation outlet port. FIG. 7 shows how thisconventional system would apply to a typical cluster of eight offices.

Problems With Conventional Structured Wiring

While the EIA/TIA Standard and the structured wiring concept go a longway toward solving many of the wiring problems of the past, much of theindustry has interpreted the Standard too rigidly and failed torecognize the full potential of this system. One of the more commonmisunderstandings is that the Standard requires "dedicated" cable runsfrom the wiring closet to each workstation outlet port for eachcommunications service.

Although dedicated wiring may be sufficient for a single telephone and asingle data service per workstation, in today's office environment,workers generally require many additional services. For example, amodern workstation may be wired for telephone, FAX, modem or centralcomputer connection, printer connection, and a local area network. Thetypical workstation needs anywhere from three to six service connectionsper desk.

With dedicated wiring, every workstation is wired with individual cableruns from the wiring closet to the workstation for each of the desiredservices. An extremely large number of cable runs are thus required toaccommodate one or more workgroups in a given area. As shown in FIG. 7,each line represents a bundle of three to six cables. In order todistribute the cables about the floor of the office, considerable spacemust be available in cable trays, conduits, or pathways that lead fromthe wiring closet to the workstations. In an existing building, thisspace is generally not available.

Terminating all of these cable runs into one small wiring closet canalso be a problem. All of the cables must be terminated to distributionpanels that patch over to other distributions panels. In order torealize the advantages of a star-wired configuration, the mounting ofpanels and the routing of patch cables must allow easy access fortroubleshooting and the administration of future moves or additions. Agrowing conglomeration of network concentrators, file servers,controllers, and other communications equipment must also be mountedsomewhere in the room, again with access for maintenance. The heatbuild-up from the equipment must somehow be dissipated.

Again, this requires space which probably does not exist in a previouslywired building. Even in a new building, unless it was designed with theforesight and commitment to dedicate valuable floor space to arelatively large and spacious wiring closet, chances are that the closetis still inadequate, or will soon become inadequate.

In addition, long cable runs and crowded wiring closets can limit thecapability of the wiring to handle high speed data. Network equipmentdesigners continually fight the battle between signal loss and noisebuild-up. Long cable runs attenuate the signals and hamper the abilityof the receiving equipment to correctly interpret the signal frombackground noise. Moreover, commonly used unshielded cabling is morevulnerable to noise than shielded cabling. Crowded wiring closets add tothe problem, since the build-up of electrical fields radiating fromclosely-packed wiring and equipment can also cause interferences.

Thus, in an open office environment where workstations are intentionallynon-permanent, the problems of how to effectively interface long, fixedcable runs with movable workstations, and how to avoid extensive wiringrerouting or waste when the workstations are moved must be addressed andresolved.

The Local Distribution Alternative

The present invention addresses the above problems of standard wiring,and serves the needs of a modern workgroup through the concept of localdistribution. The invention is applicable in combination with a raisedfloor, such as that disclosed in the Applicant's pending patentapplication, U.S. Ser. No. 8/161,977, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,841.

According to the invention, all of the panels and equipment associatedwith a workgroup are condensed into a single local distribution utilitycenter located on the floor near the workgroup. FIG. 8 shows the sameoffice cluster illustrated in FIG. 7, but wired using localdistribution.

The invention frees up considerable space in the wiring closet, anddrastically shortens the cable runs to the workstations, thereby gainingvaluable performance margin for high speed applications. The inventionreduces the amount and cost of the workstation cabling, and addsflexibility to the workgroup to locally administer moves or changes.Moreover, with short interconnections between workstations anddistribution center, moving workstations is made easier with minimumdisruption and cable rerouting. The workgroup can readily track downlocal network problems, and isolate itself from other network problemsif necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a utility centerfor use in a local distribution wiring system.

It is another object of the invention to provide a utility center whichpermits easy relocation of workstations within an office environment.

It is another object of the invention to provide a utility center whichis relatively small, lightweight, and easy to move.

It is another object of the invention to provide a utility center whichallows added space in the wiring closet, and shortens cable runs to theworkstations of the workgroup.

It is another object of the invention to provide a utility center whichincreases performance margin for high speed applications incommunications services.

It is another object of the invention to provide a utility center whichreduces the amount and cost of the workstation cabling.

It is another object of the invention to provide a utility center whichallows a workgroup to readily track down local network problems, and toisolate itself from other network problems if necessary.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method of providingcommunications services to a workgroup.

These and other objects of the present invention are achieved in thepreferred embodiments disclosed below by providing a utility center foruse in combination with a raised floor for accommodating data andtelecommunications wiring in an area between the raised floor and asupporting subfloor. The utility center is located intermediate acommunications wiring closet and at least one workstation of a workgroupfor distributing wiring to communications equipment of the at least oneworkstation. The utility center includes a base mounted on the subfloor.The base includes an access opening therein for receiving wiring fromthe communications wiring closet, and for delivering wiring from theutility center to the at least one workstation of the workgroup. Avertical support is connected to the base. A distribution panel iscarried by the support for operatively interconnecting wiring of thewiring closet and the communications equipment of the at least oneworkstation.

According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the baseincludes a plurality of legs for vertically spacing the utility centerabove the supporting subfloor.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the raisedfloor includes a plurality of floor modules, and the base includes atleast one of the floor modules of the raised floor.

According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, firstand second opposing side walls are connected to the base of the utilitycenter.

According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, thevertical support means includes first and second support rods connectedto respective side walls of the utility center for carrying thedistribution panel means.

According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, a topwall is connected to the first and second side walls of the utilitycenter.

According to yet another preferred embodiment of the invention, frontand back walls are connected to the first and second side walls of theutility center for allowing convenient access to the distribution panelmeans.

An embodiment of the method according to the invention includes thesteps of delivering communications wiring beneath a raised floor from aremote wiring closet to a local distribution utility center mounted on asupporting subfloor. The method further includes the step of deliveringdistribution wiring from the utility center to the at least oneworkstation of the workgroup, and operatively interconnecting thecommunications wiring of the wiring closet and the distribution wiringof the at least one workstation to service communications equipmentassociated with the workgroup.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some of the objects of the invention have been set forth above. Otherobjects and advantages of the invention will appear as the inventionproceeds when taken in conjunction with the following drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an environmental perspective view of the utility centeraccording to one preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the utility center with the frontwall removed to illustrate the distribution panel located within theutility center;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the utility center with the distributionpanel and front and back walls removed, and showing the side walls andtop wall in phantom to illustrate the interior elements of the utilitycenter;

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the utility center;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the utility center;

FIG. 6 is a back elevational view of the utility center with the backwall and distribution panel removed;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an office cluster wired according to aprior art structured wiring system with dedicated cable runs from thewiring closet to the workstations; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the office cluster shown in FIG. 7, butwired according to a local distribution wiring system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT AND BEST MODE

Referring now specifically to the drawings, a local distribution utilitycenter according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 andshown generally at reference numeral 10. The utility center 10 is usedin combination with a raised floor 11, and through distribution cabling12, interconnects data and telecommunications equipment 14A and 14B withbackbone cabling 15 of a remote wiring closet 16. The backbone cabling15 and distribution cabling 12 run beneath the raised floor 11 inpathways defined by a space between the raised floor 11 and supportingsubfloor 17.

As shown in FIG. 1, the backbone cabling 15 extends from the wiringcloset 16 to the utility center 10. The utility center 10 is preferablystationed on the floor 11 of the office near a workgroup.

The "workgroup" is defined herein as any group of co-workers havingcommon needs and interests, and who are located in relatively closeproximity to each other. The members of the group communicate frequentlywith each other, and typically share the same information. The membersare generally connected to the same local area network and file server.They generally use the same types of software, and may even sharesoftware on the network. They may also share some of the same equipment,such as printers or plotters. A typical workgroup may include between8-12 workstations 18A, 18B, 18C, and 18D, and may require as many as 32to 48 data and telecommunications services 14A and 14B.

To eliminate the long, fixed cable runs of a conventional structuredsystem to each communications service 14A and 14B, the utility center 10includes a distribution panel 20, shown in FIG. 2, with modular jacksand other communications ports necessary to service all workstations18A-18D of the workgroup. The distribution panel 20 is housed directlywithin the utility center 10, as opposed to the remote wiring closet 16,and may patch into other devices (not shown) located in the utilitycenter 10, such as a backbone interconnection panel, networkconcentrator, or printer spooler.

The structure of the utility center 10, according to a preferredembodiment, is best illustrated in FIGS. 2-6. The utility center 10includes a base 22, and first and second side walls 23 and 24 connectedto the base 22. Respective U-shaped support rods 26 and 27 are attachedto the side walls 23 and 24 for engaging the distribution panel 20 (SeeFIG. 2) to support the distribution panel 20 within the utility center10. Preferably, the support rods 26 and 27 are attached to a pluralityof horizontal ribs 44 located on the interior of each of the side walls23 and 24.

The base 22 includes legs 31, 32, 33, and 34 for being mounted directlyonto the subfloor 17 of the office to locate the utility center 10 aspaced-apart distance above the subfloor 17. Preferably, the base 22 isdimensioned to form a section of the raised floor 11, and to match theappearance of the raised floor 11. Thus, the utility center 10 can bereadily moved to any location in the office by simply interchanging asection of the raised floor 11 and the utility center 10. In addition,because the utility center 10 is part of the raised floor 11, it issecurely mounted to the floor 11 and will not be easily tipped over orinadvertently moved.

As best shown in FIG. 4, an access opening 35 is formed in the base 22of the utility center 10 for receiving the backbone cabling 15 of theremote wiring closet 16, and for running the distribution cabling 12from the utility center 10 to the workstations 18A-18D. The backbonecabling 15 connects to jacks and other communications ports of thedistribution panel 20. According to one embodiment, the backbone cabling15 connects to a standard medium attachment unit ("MAU") 36 locatedwithin the utility center 10, and carried by a housing 38 removablyjoined to the utility center 10.

The utility center 10 may further include front and back walls 41 and 42and a top wall 43 for enclosing the distribution panel 20. Preferably,the front and back walls 41 and 42 are removable to allow easy access tothe distribution panel 20 and MAU 36.

In addition to the distribution panel 20 and MAU 36, the utility center10 may house any other necessary or desired communications attachmentunits or patch panels commonly known and used in the industry, and whichwere previously located in the remote wiring closet 16. Preferably, oneutility center 10 has the capacity to service an entire workgroup withas many as 16 to 48 communications outlet ports.

A local distribution utility center for a raised floor, and method ofproviding communications services to a workgroup are described above.Various details of the invention may be changed without departing fromits scope. Furthermore, the foregoing description of the preferredembodiment of the invention is provided for the purpose of illustrationonly and not for the purpose of limitation--the invention being definedby the claims.

We claim:
 1. In combination with a raised floor comprising an assemblyof floor modules for accommodating data and telecommunications wiring inan area between the raised floor and a supporting subfloor, a removableand transportable utility center located intermediate a communicationswiring closet and at least one work station of a work group fordistributing wiring to communications equipment of the at least one workstation, said utility center comprising:(a) a self-suoporting basefreely positioned on the subfloor and comprising at least one of theassembly of floor module to define a section of the raised floor, saidbase comprising a top surface and a plurality of attached legs forlocating the top surface of the base above the subfloor, and defining anunobstructed space between the top surface of the base and the subfloorfor accommodating data and telecommunications wiring and said baseincluding an access opening formed in the top surface of the base forreceiving wiring from the communications wiring closet, and fordelivering wiring from the utility center to the at least one workstation of the work group; (b) vertical support means connected to saidbase; and (c) distribution panel means carried by said support means foroperatively interconnecting wiring of the wiring closet and thecommunications equipment of the at least one work station.
 2. Thecombination according to claim 1, and including first and secondopposing side walls connected to the base of the utility center.
 3. Thecombination according to claim 2, wherein said vertical support meansincludes first and second support rods connected to respective sidewalls of the utility center for carrying said distribution panel means.4. The combination according to claim 2, and including a top wallconnected to the first and second side walls of the utility center. 5.The combination according to claim 2, and including removable front andback walls connected to the first and second side walls of the utilitycenter for allowing convenient access to said distribution panel means.6. A local distribution utility center for a raised floor comprising anassembly of floor modules positioned on a supporting subfloor, saidutility center comprising:(a) a self-supporting base for being freelypositioned on the subfloor and for comprising at least one of theassembly of floor modules to define a section of the raised floor, saidbase comprising a top surface and a plurality of attached legs forlocating the top surface above the subfloor, and defining anunobstructed space between the top surface and the subfloor foraccommodating data and telecommunications wiring, and said baseincluding an access opening formed in the top surface for receivingwiring from the communications wiring closet, and for delivering wiringfrom the utility center to the at least one work station of the workgroup; (b) vertical support means connected to said base; and (c)distribution panel means carried by said support means for operativelyinterconnecting wiring of the wiring closet and the communicationsequipment of the at least one work station.
 7. A utility centeraccording to claim 6, and including first and second opposing side wallsconnected to the base of the utility center.
 8. A utility centeraccording to claim 7, wherein said vertical support means includes firstand second support rods connected to respective side walls of theutility center for carrying said distribution panel means.
 9. A utilitycenter according to claim 7, and including a top wall connected to thefirst and second side walls of the utility center.
 10. A utility centeraccording to claim 7, and including removable front and back wallsconnected to the first and second side walls of the utility center forallowing convenient access to said distribution panel means.